Kansas finishes second at the Hootie at Bulls Bay Invitational

Hootie at Bulls Bay
Bulls Bay Course Course
Awendaw, S.C.
Par-72 | 7,316 yards
Results – Round 3 of 3

Place Team (golfstat rank) Score
1 South Carolina (20) -22 (842)
2 KANSAS (36) -15 (849)
3 College of Charleston -10 (854)
4 Missouri -7 (857)
5 Kent State -5 (859)
6 Iowa State (38) -3 (861)
7 N.C. State (27) -2 (862)
8 Kentucky -1 (863)
9 West Virginia (41) +1 (865)
10 Duke (4) +3 (867)
T11 Purdue +5 (869)
T11 Virginia +5 (869)
13 Wisconsin +7 (871)
14 Middle Tenn. State +16 (880)
15 Ole Miss +18 (882)
Individual Leaderboard (Top 3)
Place Name Team Score
1 Charlie HIllier      KU 203 (-13)
2 Rory Franssen MU 206 (-10)
3 James Wilson SC 207 (-9)
Kansas Leaderboard
Place Name Score
1 Charlie Hillier 203 (-13)
T22 Jeff Doty 215 (-1)
T22 Andy Spencer 215 (-1)
T46 Ben Sigel 221 (+5)
64 Harry Hillier 225 (+9)

AWENDAW, S.C. – Heading into the third and final round of South Carolina’s Hootie at Bulls Bay Invitational, the No. 36 Kansas men’s golf found itself in fourth place and seven strokes back of the leading College of Charleston. However, thanks to an 8-under team performance on Tuesday, the Jayhawks were able to climb their way to a second place finish overall with an 849 (-15) cumulative score. The runner-up placing gives KU five finishes inside the top-five this season, four of which have been top two. Kansas was behind only the No. 20 Gamecocks who finished their home tournament 22-under (842).
 
Kansas senior Charlie Hillier continued to be the talk of tournament as he finished in first place overall, shooting 3-under for his third round and 13-under (203) overall. Hillier’s victory marks his first-ever first-place finish in his collegiate career, and his fifth top-five finish since coming to Kansas. The senior finished three strokes ahead of the second place finisher Rory Franssen from Missouri.
 
KU redshirt freshman Jeff Doty and junior Andy Spencer tied as the Jayhawks second-best finishers at the tournament coming in at 22nd overall. Doty shot 1-under in the final round, while Spencer shot 2-under in round three. The Jayhawk duo finished the tournament with a three-round 215 (-1).
 
Kansas sophomore Ben Sigel found his grove improving five strokes from round two, shooting 2-under on the day and 221 (+5) for the tournament. Sigel collected four birdies in the final round to help him place tied for 46th overall. Meanwhile, sophomore Harry Hillier collected two birdies himself and finished with a 225 (+9) overall score to round out the Kansas five.
 
Next up the Jayhawks will compete April 6-7 at the Irish Creek Intercollegiate in Charlotte, North Carolins. The University of North Carolina at Charlotte will host the 54-hole intercollegiate at the Club at Irish Creek.
 
QUOTES
Head Coach Jamie Bermel
 
Q: Did the weather play a role in teams having struggles today and how did your team not seem to phased?
 
A: The weather was a bit windy today and we had third day pins so the golf course was playing harder. I’m really proud on how the guys battled today because we were basically playing with four guys as Harry was 3-over after two-holes.
 
Q: Charlie Hillier finished first overall and Jeff Doty competed at a high level against solid competition, what did both of them do well at this event and how vital is the addition of Doty to the team?
 
A: Charlie looked like a champion out there this week. He has control of his game from start to finish. He wobbled a bit on 11 and 12 today, but birdied 13 to take a two-stroke lead and made a really nice birdie on 15, finishing it off with solid pars on the last three holes. I’m so happy to see him finally get his first individual win. He has been close several times, but finally broke through his senior year. Jeff Doty has been a nice addition to our team. Although he is only a redshirt freshman, he plays with a lot of poise and has added depth to our team.
 
Q: What did you see from the rest of the team overall?
 
A: Andy played well today and birdied three of his last four holes to shoot 2-under. Also, Ben Sigel posted a nice round of two under par and he was the first guy out today and it helps the team immensely when the first score posted is a good one. It was a total team effort. We just got beat by a good South Carolina team today. We are getting better, but still have room for improvement before the season is over.
 
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